Dear Inspector General Roth:
According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the number of assaults on law enforcement personnel, including Border Patrol Agents, has increased substantially between fiscal year 2016 and fiscal year 2017. Given this increase and the potential consequences for the safety of law enforcement personnel at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), we write to request that you review the number of assaults against all CBP law enforcement personnel and any measures that DHS has taken to mitigate the threats faced by CBP law enforcement personnel in the field.
In particular, we ask that you review:
* The number of assaults on CBP personnel sustained during the course of their duty for each year since fiscal year 2010, including the locations of each assault, the type of assault, days lost to injury, and any trends that have emerged;
* The methods that CBP uses to collect, compile, track, and report data on CBP law enforcement personnel injury in the field;
* Any measures DHS has taken to improve CBP law enforcement personnel safety in the field, including tactical and de-escalation training;
* Measures that CBP could take to promote law enforcement personnel safety in the future.
* Please include the percentage of incidents that resulted in prosecution and the average sentence given to the offenders.
Should you have any questions regarding this inquiry, please contact Joske Bautista on Chairman Johnson’s staff at Joske_Bautista@hsgac.senate.gov, and Caitlin Warner on Ranking Member McCaskill’s staff at Caitlin_Warner@hsgac.senate.gov. Thank you in advance for your attention to this request.
Sincerely,
Ron Johnson Claire McCaskill
Chairman Ranking Member
Source: U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
